Rotary engine.



G. A. CATHEY & E. D. JOHNSON.

ROTARY ENGINE:

APPLICATION FILED MAB. l. 1915.

Patented Dec. 26,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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v 3 A WITNESSES:

G. A. CATHEY & E. D. JOHNSON.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 1.19m.

Patented Dec. 26, 1916.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

G. A. CATHEY & E. D. JOHNSON.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. i. 19x5.

1 ,2 1 0 046 Patented Dec. 26, 1916.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

re more.

GEORGE A; GATHEY AND ROTARY ENGINE.

To all-whom it may concern Be it known that we, GEORGE A. GATHEY andELZA D. JOHNSON, residing at Klamath Falls, in the county of Klamath andState of Oregon, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRotary Engines, Embodying Internal Combustion, of which the following isa specification.

Our invention is an improved engine of the rotary-type which has beenespecially designed for use as an internal combustion engine or as acombined steam and-internal combustion engine, as may be founddesirable.

Generically the invention comprises a rotary engine of therotatingpiston, sliding abutment type, means being provided forpositively operating the abutment in such manner that all wear is taken01f the abutment and the piston the invention also including means forpacking the piston in an air-tight manner without undue friction, and tothat end we have provided 'a special packing device for the piston head,by the use of which greater eiiiciency and less wear of parts isobtained than is the case in other engines of this general type.

The invention further includes means whereby the movements of theabutment are so timed with relation to the dead arc of travel of thepiston that the abutment slot will not be opened for obstructiveengagement by the piston packing members while passing over the same. 7I

Again, the invention provides a mechanism whereby an explosive mixtureof air and gas, or gasoline, may be admitted into the working chamber ofthe engine while the piston is being impelled by steam to therebyincrease the pressure of the working agent and hence increase the poweroutput of the engine.

Another object of the invention is to provide meansfor effecting aninitial compression of the explosive gases andto admit the same into theworking chamber against a steam cushion at the instant anexplosionoccurs, whereby the full explosive force is made immediatelyavailable for work on'the 3iston by super-heating the steam intheworking chamber as well as by raising its pressure, due to the expansionof the exploded gases upon ignition of the same.

The invention further includes those novel details of construction,combination and arrangement of parts, all of which will be Specificationof Letters Patent.

valve actuating devices. section on the line 9..9 of Fig. 3. Figs. 10,

' steam intake duct.

' packing 11 of the rotator.

ELZA DELNO JOHNSON, F KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON.

Patented Dec. 26, 1916.

Application filed March 1, 1915. Serial No. 11,281.

first fully described, then be specifically pointed out in the appendedclaims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1is a side elevation and part section on the line 11 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 isa horizontal section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detailelevation looking in the direction of the arrow A. Fig. l is a detailperspective view of the piston head with the packing members removed.Fig. 5 is a detall perspective viewof the packlng members, the two setsbeing separated. Fig. 6 'is a detail perspective view of the packingmember expansion'spring. Fig. is adetail section on the line 7-7 ofFig. 1. Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of the steam Fig. 9 is adetail 12 and 13 are detail sections on the lines 11-l1, 12-342 and1313',.respecof Fig- 9; Fig. '14: is a detail perview, parts beingbroken away,

11, 10 tively,

spective showing the manner of operating the compressor or pump pistonand actuating the valve rotating devices. Figs. 15, 16, 17 and 18 aredetail diagrammatic sections illustrating the operation of the abutmentmovmg devices and their cooperative. connections. 19l9 of Fig. 15. Fig.20 is a detail view Fig. 19 is a detail section on the line illustratingthe back check valve in the Fig. 21 is a detail section showing 'amodification of the piston for wide pistons.

g In the drawings, in which like letters and numerals of referenceindicate like parts in all of the figures, 1 represents the engine shaftwhich is ournaled'in suitable bearings 6 inthe casing 52.. The casing 2is provided with the. usual bed or support 3 and is also provided with aremovable head 4 that 18 secured in place by suitable screw bolt-s Thehead 4: and the opposite wall of the casing 2 are each provided with in.wardly projecting annular rings 87 respectively, the opposing faces ofwhich are spaced apart-to permit passage of the web The rotator has itshub 10 keyed to the shaft 1 and is'provided with .l'aterallyproqectingannular sealing guldes 13 that seat in annular recesses 12 in theopposing faces of the members 7-8. The casing 2 is thus provided with anannular working chamber 9 in which the piston 14 is movable, it beingunderstood that the piston 14 is carried'by the Web 11 and suitablybraced at 15.

In order to effect an air and steam-tight joint between the movingsurfaces of the piston and easing the plston 1s provlded with a slot 16separating it 1nto two parts that are united by a connection 17, asbestshown in Fig. 4 of the drawing. .In the slot 16 is located the specialpacking device which forms one of the features of the present invention.This packing device, the construction of which is best shown n Flgs. 5and 7 is composed of four sect ons of packing'members arranged in twopairs, one pair consisting of the sect1ons 18.18 of substantiallyL-shaped in plan view and so designed as to overlap each other as at 21,whereby to leave two unbroken transverse long edges and two radial shortedges, the latter being broken by the joints. I-he other set of packingmembers is composed 0t two sections 18 that have overlapping portions 22and 22 (see Fig. 5) so designed that the long side will be the brokenslde, and the short end the. unbroken end ofthe packing. The two pairsof packing members are placed upon each other, as shown in Figs. 5 and7, 'in such manner that there will be a continuous unbroken packing edgeon all four sides of the piston.

'The several packing members are spaced apart at 2st to inclose theconnection 17 between the two piston sections and also to inclose theexpanding ring 23 by means of which the packing sections are. kept incontact with the walls of the casing in the working chamber."

The two sections of packing may be held by pin and slot connections 19and to insure the proper relative movements of the parts to take upwear.

25 designates the abutment housing which is secured at 26 to the enginecasing and which is designed. to providethe abutment chamber 27 thelatter being closed by a cap 28 as best shown in FigsQl and 2 of thedrawings.

29 is the abutment which is of the sliding type and has a tongue andslot connection 29" with the side Walls, of the casing 2 and cover 4(see Fig. 2). The abutment 29 is alsoprovided with guide bores 30 toreceive the guide pins 32 that are carried by the cap 28, the bores 30being counter-bored at 31 to form spring pockets in which the lightsprings 33 are seated.

It will be noticed the ton 14 is located at an angle to the radial lineof the guideway 29 -so that as the pack ing members pass over the radialguide slots 219 they will not engage the edges of the s ot.

The abutment 29 has lateral projections 34 into which the rods 35 arefastened, the rods. 35' passing through suitable glands in space 16 inthe pisare provided with slotways 38 in which the I block 39 is mounted,the block 39 having a pin 4:0 which is connected with'the cam strapl of:the abu ment rn. .2;, e am 42 being Secured to turn with the shaft 1.The cam i2 may benlade as a part of one of the fly wheels, if desired.

The block 39 is provided with a recess 43 into which the head 47 of thelatching lever 46 is adapted to. project at times to lock the block 39and the slide 37' together. The latching lever 4-6 is pivotally carriedat 4:5 in arecess in one of the arms of the slide 37 and one of theg-uideways of the fixed; guide 36 is provided with a recess 4:8 intovwhich the other of the lever 46 is designed to more. clearlyexenter attimes as will be plained.

49 is. a latching roller carried by the yieldable arm 50 that isfastened at 51 to. one of the aforesaid slideway members 361 and thesaid slideway member is chambered out at 48. to permit roller 49 toproject into engagement with the slide 37 when itis in the positionshown in Figs. 1 5 and 16, to latch the same in those positions.

101 designates a spring that is inserted between block 39 and the slidepose later explained.

52 designates the steam supply pipe that 37 for a purleads into. theengine through the peripheral wall of the casing 2 and this pipe isprovided with a shutoif valve 53 that has a stem 54' which is, providedwith a, trip 55 which cooperates with a cam 57 on one of the fly wheels99 to hold the valve'53. open during the interval in which steam isdesigned to be admitted into the working chamber, a spring 56 serving toclosethe valve 53 when the cam 57 disengages the trip 55.

58 designates a pumping orinitial compression cylinder in which thecharge of explosive mixtnreis designed to be compressed prior to its,transmittal to the explosion chamber and the working chamber of theengine. The cylinder 58 contains the piston 59 which is operativelysecured at 60 to the strap, 61 of the pumpingor compressing cam 62, thecam 62 being/suitably keyed to the shaftv 1. V

63 is the valve casing which is bolted to the head or the cylinder 58and is also secured at 65' to the engine casing to sustain the cylinder58 in. position, it being understood that if desired, the cylinder 58may have projections bored to fit onto the engine shaft to assist insustaining it.

66 is a dome-like member bolted over the end of the valve duct 63 andcontains the explosion chamber 67, the latter being suitably water-jacketed at 68, and the-dome 66 has the usual tapped bore for the sparkplug 69 of the ignition system (it being understood that any suitableignition system may be employed, and hence we have not illustrated thesame).

The valve casing 63 is bored at 64 to re ceive the rotary valve 70, thelatter being provided with a port 7 2 that is designed to register withthe outlet port 7 3 from the compression or pumping cylinder 58 and alsoto register with the internal duct 71 of the valve. The duct 71registers with a port 74 that is designed to register with a port 75 tolead the compressed working agent into the explosion chamber 67, attimes. The valve 70 is also provided with a port 77 that is adapted toconvey the exhausted working agent through the ports 76 and 78 into theworking chamber of the engine.

79 is a stem portion of the valve 70 that carries a restraining member80 which may be a. threaded nut or any other suitable device.

lVorkin'g agent is received through a pipe 81 from the carbureter (notshown) and delivered through ducts 82 and 84, via the port 83 of thevalve 70, into the pump cylinder 58 when the port 83 is in register withthe ports 82 and 8% on the down or out stroke of the piston.

The stem 85, of the valve 70, carries a ratchet 86 having four teeth sothat the valve 7 0 may be operated in steps.

87 is a bifurcated rocking lever mounted loosely on the stem 85 tostraddle the ratchet 86, and the lever 87 is restrained from movement inone direction by a stop 88. The lever 87 carries a pawl 89 that isdesigned to engage the ratchet 86.

Movement is imparted at proper intervals to the lever 87 by pins 97 thatengage the short arm 96 of a bell crank 94, the latter being pivoted atand connected with the lever 87 by a connecting rod 90. The lever 87 isnormally held against the stop 88 by a spring 91 on the rod 90 that liesbetween a fixed abutment 93 and an adjustable collar 92, as best shownin Fig. 8 of the drawings.

98 designates the exhaust duct from the engine and 99 represents the flywheels of which two are provided, one on each side of the engine.

WVhere the steam pipe enters the engine casing, I provide a back checkvalve 100 of the mush-room type so that when the explosive agent isadmitted into the working chamber, the steam will notbe backed up gleexpansion spring 23, as shown in Figs.

.5, 6 and 7, where the piston is of considerable width, the connectinglug 17 between the piston sections may be made wider and the ends of thepacking plates may be made of lesser thickness so as to provide twochambers in which two springs 23 may be located, as indicated in Fig. 21of the drawlngs.

Operation: It will be observed that the engine, while adapted foroperation either as a steam or as an explosive engine, is especiallydesigned to operate under the joint action of. steam and explosive gaseswithin the working chamber. Assume the piston 1% to be moving around inits path of travel and to have just passed the abutment, the abutmenthaving been just moved into full working position in the workingchamber. At this time the abutment operatin slide, etc, will be at theposition shown in Fig. 15, the slide 87 just having come to rest; block39 is moving in the direction of the arrow; the locking device 16 hasjust released the block from the slide; and the latch 19-50 has justcome in position. As soon as the piston 14 has passed the working agentadmission port, (see Fig. 1), the steam valve 53 is opened by the cam57, the cam 57 holding the steam valve open during substantially thefull working stroke of the piston, or the cam may be designed for ashorter period of admission, if desired. The gas valve 70 next assumesthe position shown in Fig. 9 to admit the explosive gases from theexplosion chamber 67 into the working chamber 9, (it being understoodthat the ignition of the charge occurs at the instant the valve openspassage between the working chamber and the explosion chamber), therebysuper-heating the steam, and by reason of the expansion force of thegases and added heat additional pressure is provided in the workingchamber, the check valve 100 preventing back flow of gases into thesteam supply pipe as long as the pressure in the working chamber exceedsthe normal steam pressure. As the piston it moves around rom theposition shown in Fig. 1, to a position about 270 from that shown inFig. 1, the block 39 will travel toward the shaft and back to theposition shown in Fig. 1 to engage the spring 101 (the spring 101, itbeing understood is a stiff spring so as not to yield readily). Furthermovement of the piston serves to cause the cam 12 to continue theout-stroke of the block 39 and as it is against the spring 101, theslide 37 will be moved with it, thus moving the abutment into itshousing and at the same time the lock lever e16 will have been rocked tolock the block 39 and slide 37 together, (see Fig. 17). As

the slide arrives at its farthest place in the housing, the inneredge'of the slide will be substantially flush with the peripheral wallof the working chamber and in order to prevent the packing plates of thepiston from being forced into the abutment slot, the

abutment must remain in this position stationarily for a sufficientinterval of time to permit the piston plates to pass the abutment andthis is done by providing the spring 101, which, when the abutment iscompletely housed and the slide 37 stopped, will yield during theremainder of the out stroke of the block39 (see Fig. 18). 'As the slide37 and block 39 are locked together by the locking lever 46, when theblock 39 returns on its inward stroke, the slide will move with it untilthe abutment has been restored in the working chamber, at which time thelever 46 will again enter the recess 48 and release the block tocontinue its free travel on the dead portions of its strokes.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with theaccompanying. drawings, it will be seen we have provided an engine inwhich efficient means have been devised for effecting steam andair-tight oints between the working chamber and the moving parts and inwhich the construction is such that theengine may be operated eitherunder steam or explosive mixture alternatively or the same may beoperated simultaneously by a combined action of the steam and explosivegases.

It will also be noticed that by the provision of the special mechanismfor operating the slide the same can be held stationary while the pistonpacking plates are passing the slideway slot through which the slideenters the working chamber, the slide being held in a substantiallyflush relation with the slot so that the packing plates will not enterand cut or bind on the edges of the abutment slot.

Furthermore the arrangement of the parts is such that a compactconstruction is possible.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, it is thought the complete construction,operation and advantages of our invention will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art.

What we claim is 1. In a rotary engine, a casing inclosing a pistonchamber, an ignition chamber mounted on said casing and adapted tocommunicate with the same, a rotatable shaft, a web on said shaft, apiston carried by said web and operating in said chamber, an abutmentcooperating with said piston, asteam pipe delivering into said chamberbetween said abutment and said piston after said pis ton has passed saidabutment, a compressor for compressing explosive gases, operativeconnections between said shaft and said compressor, a valved ductconnecting Stlld. V

compressor with said ignition chamber to admit explosive gases into saidchamber, ig-

nition, devices piston, and a mechanism for timing. said duct valve andsaid ignition devices.

2. Ina rotary engine, a casing inclosing a piston chamber, an ignitionchamber mounted on said casing and adapted to communicate with the same,a rotatable shaft,a web 7 on said shaft, a piston carried by said weband operating in said chamber, an abutment cooperating with said piston,a steam pipe delivering into said chamber between said abutment and saidpiston after said piston has passed said abutment, a compressor forcompressing explosive gases, operative connections between said shaftand said compressor, a valved, duct connecting said compressor with saidignition chamber to admit explosive gasesinto said chamber, ignitiondevices piston, mechanism for timing said duct valve and said ignitiondevices, a valve connections between said shaft and said compressor, avalved duct connecting said compressor with said ignition chamber toadmit explosive gases into said chamber, ignition devices piston, andmechanism for timing said duct valve and said'ignition devices, to admitthe explosive gases into said chamber during the time the steam isimpelling said piston.

4. In a rotary engine, a casing having an annular working chamber, arotator including a piston head operating in said chamber, an abutmentchamber on said casing, an abutment, mechanism for moving said abutmentinto and out of said abutment chamber at intervals, means for admittingworking agent into said working chamber, means for exhausting workingagent from the same, said working agent admitting means including asteam inlet duct, a back check valve in said duct, a cutoff valve andmeans for operating said cutoff valve, mechanism for admitting explosiveagent into said Working chamber, said lastnamed mechanism comprising acharge compressor, an explosion chamber, a duct for conveying thecompressed charge to the explosion chamber,

means for admitting working agent into the compressor, a duct forconveying the working agent from the explosive chamber into the workingchamber, and a valve mechanism for controlling the admission of workingagent to said compressor, for controlling the passage of the compressedcharge from the compressor to the explosion chamber, and for controllingthe passage of the charge from the explosion chamber to the workingchamber.

5. In a rotary engine, a casing having an annular working chamber, arotator including a piston head operating in said chamber, an abutmentchamber on said casing, an abutment, mechanism for moving said abutmentinto and out of said abutment chamber at intervals, means for admittingworking agent into said working chamber, means for exhausting workingagent from the same. said working agent admitting means including asteam inlet duct, a back check valve in said duct, a cutofl valve, andmeans for operating said cutofi valve, mechanism for admitting explosiveagent into said working chamber, said last named mechanism comprising acharge compressor, an explosion chamber, a duct for conveying thecompressed charge to the explosion chamber, means for admitting workingagent into the compressor. a duct for conveying the working agent fromthe explosive chamber into the working chamber, a valve mechanism forcontrolling the admission of working agent to said compressor, forcontrolling the passage of the compressed charge to the explo sionchamber, and for controlling the passage of the charge from theexplosion chamber to the working chamber, said last named valvemechanism including a rotary valve element, and an intermittentlyoperating valve gear for imparting rotation to said ele ment.

6. In a rotary engine. a casing having an annular working chamber, arotator includ ing a piston head operating in said chamber, an abutmentchamber on said casing. an abutment, mechanism for moving said abutmentinto and out of said abutment chamber at intervals, means for admittingworking agent into said working chamber, means for exhausting workingagent from the same, said working agent admitting means including asteam inlet duct, a back check valve in said duct, a cutofl' valve andmeans for operating said cutofl valve, mechanism for admitting explosiveagent into said working chamber, said last named mechanism comprising acharge compressor, an explosion chamber, a duct for conveying thecompressed charge to the explosion chamber, means for admitting workingagent into the compressor, a duct for conveying the working agent fromthe explosive chamber into the working chamber, a valve mechanism forcontrolling the admission of working agent to said compressor, forcontrolling the passage of the compressed charge from the compressor tothe explosion chamber, and for controlling the passage of the chargefrom the explosion chamber to the working chamber, said last named valvemechanism including a rotary valve element, and an intermittentlyoperating valve gear for imparting stcp-by-step rotation to said valveelement.

- 7. In a rotary engine, a casing having an annular working chamber, arotator including a piston head operating in said chamber, an abutmentchamber on said casing, an abutment, mechanism for moving said abutmentinto and out of said abutment chamber at intervals, means for admittingworking agent into said working chamber, means for exhausting Workingagent from the same, said working agent admitting means including asteam inlet duct, a back check valve in said duct, a cutofl valve andmeans for operating said cutofl' valve, mechanism for admittingexplosive agent into said working chamber, said last named mechanismcomprising a charge compressor, an explosion chamber, a duct forconveying the compressed charge to the explosion chamber, means foradmitting working agent into the compressor, a duct for conveying theworking agent from the explosion chamber into the working chamber, avalve mechanism for controlling the admission of working agent to saidcompressor, for controlling the passage of the compressed charge fromthe compressor to the explosion chamber, and for controlling the passageof the charge from the explosion chamber to the working chamber, saidcompressor including a cylinder, a piston reciprocating in the same, andan operating connection between said shaft and said piston.

8. In a rotary engine, a casing having an annular working chamber, arotator including a piston head operating in said chamber, an abutmentchamber on said casing, an abutment, mechanism for moving said abutmentinto and out of said abutment chamber at intervals, means for admittingworking agent into said working chamber, means for exhausting workingagent from the same, said working agent admitting means including asteam inlet duct, a back check valve in said duct, a cutoff valve andmeans for operating said cutoff valve, mechanism for admitting explosiveagent into said working chamber, said last named mechanism comprising acharge compressor, an explosion chamber, a duct for conveying thecompressed charge to the explosion chamber, means for admitting workingagent into the compressor, a duct for conveying the working agent fromthe explosion chamber 1nto the working chamber, a valve mechanism forcontrolling the admission of working agent to said compressor, forcontrolling the passage of the compressed charge from the compressor tothe explosion chamber, and for controlling the passage of the chargefrom the explosion chamber to the working chamber, said last named valvemechanism including a rotary valve element, an intermittently operatingvalve gear for imparting step-bystep rotation to said valve element,said compressor including a cylinder, a PlS. ton reciprocating in thesame, and an operating connection between said shaft and said piston.

9. In a rotary engine, a casing having an annular Working chamber, arotator including a piston head operating in said chamber, an abutmentchamber on said casing, an abutment, mechanism for moving said abutmentinto and out of said abutment chamber at intervals, means for admittingworking agent into said Working chamber, means for exhausting workingagent from the same, said Working agent admitting means including asteam inlet duct, a back check valve in said duct, acutofi' valve andmeans for operating said cutoff valve, mechanism for ad- Copies of thispatent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing- Washington,D. 0.

mitting explosive agent into said working chamber, said last namedmechanismcomprising a charge compressor, an explosion chamber, a ductfor conveying the compressed charge to the explosion chamber, means foradmitting working agent into the compressor, a duct for conveying theworking agent from the explosionchamber into the Working chamber, avalve mechanism for controlling the admission of working agent to saidcompressor, for controlling the passage of the compressed charge fromthe compressor to the explosion chamber, and for controlling the passageof the charge from the explosion chamber to the'working chamber, saidlast named valve mechanism including a rotary valve element,- a ratcheton said element,- a rocker lever and a pawl cooperative with the same, atrip lever, a: connecting rod between said rocker lever and said triplever, and trip pins for engaging said trip lever at intervals, I GEORGEA. GATHEY.

ELZA DELNO JOHNSON. Witnesses H. Goonnron,

W. J. MGLAUGHLIN.

the Gommissioner of I atents.

